Obviously Cole had no idea to whom he was talking. His advice went against every instinct she had. But, as she looked into his sparkling gray eyes, she found that she wanted to let go. To stop worrying about, and analyzing everything, and let her body take over. It was a risk, but it was a risk she wanted to take. Nodding, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the music flow through her. She smiled at Cole, who pulled her in tighter.
Bri reveled in his closeness. All her senses were tuned into him. His smell, a mix of his leather jacket and a subtle, but tantalizing, cologne. The way the lights danced off his dark hair. The deep abyss of his eyes as he looked at her. The feel of his hands on her back and hips. His chest pressed against hers. It was intoxicating, and she wanted more.
As the music switched to a slow song, Cole’s arms circled her waist again and he pressed his cheek against hers. Bri closed her eyes and melted into him, completely content. As the song ended, he pulled back slowly. His eyes held hers, and she couldn’t look away. For one exhilarating, terrifying moment, Bri was sure he was going to kiss her. His eyes dropped to her lips, and her breath caught. His eyes returned to hers, and he began to lean in. Bri felt her eyes widen in fear, even though a big part of her wanted this more than anything.
Seeing the apprehension in her eyes, Cole pulled back. He gave her a lopsided grin, before leaning into her ear.
“Let’s get out of here. There’s one more place I wanted to take you tonight.”
Relief and disappointment flooded through her as she nodded. Cole grabbed her hand again and led her out of the club and to his truck. They drove in silence, both thinking about what had almost happened. He parked at the beach by Bri’s house and turned off the truck.
“Take a walk with me?” he asked softly.
“Okay,” she replied. He came around and opened her door.
As they hit the sand, Bri slipped out of her heels and carried them as they walked along the water.
“Bri,” Cole sounded hesitant. “If I ask you something, will you give me the answer?”
She considered this a moment. “Yes, if I can.”
“Will you tell me what happened with the guy who broke your heart?” Cole kept his eyes straight ahead.
Bri was stunned. She hadn’t expected that question. She thought for a moment, and decided that if anything was going to happen with Cole, this was a conversation they needed to have. And she wanted to tell him. She wanted him to know her. So, taking a deep breath, she began.
“His name was Jeremy.” Out of the corner of her eye, Bri saw Cole’s eyes dart to her, as if he hadn’t expected her to tell him. “He was a year older than me in school, and was the star wide receiver on the football team. I spent my whole sophomore year crushing on him, but I don’t think he even knew I existed. Then junior year started, and I was so excited because Jeremy was in my chemistry class. Knowing I was smart, he asked if I’d be his lab partner, of course figuring I’d do all of the work for him. I knew that was why he chose me, but I didn’t care. I was just so excited he’d asked.
“We got to know each other, and about a month later, he asked me out. It was seriously the best day of my life.” Bri remembered her excitement and shock. “I mean, the guy I freaking worshipped actually asked me out! I couldn’t believe it. We started dating, and pretty soon we were officially a couple. And I was oh so blissfully happy. Blindly, naively, stupidly happy. We would hang out at his house a lot, and we went to a couple dances, but looking back, I realized that he didn’t really take me out a lot. Instead we would go to one of his friends’ houses, or, if my dad and Summer were gone, we’d hang out at my house. But we didn’t really go on actual dates. It was like I wasn’t worth the effort or money, or something.
“Anyway, we’d been together about three months, and for New Year’s Jeremy and his friends decided to go to the big party in downtown Dallas. They’d all gotten hotel rooms and were going to make a whole night of it. When Jeremy asked me to come with him, I was a bit hesitant. I didn’t want to stay in a hotel room with him. He had started getting pushy about the whole sex thing, and I knew it’d be a bad idea to share a room with him. But, he promised he’d get me my own room if I’d just please come with him. And since I could never really say no to him, I agreed.” Bri paused to take another deep breath.
“You have to understand that by that point I thought I was in love with him. I mistook infatuation for love, and I didn’t want to disappoint him. I thought he loved me, too, but I was stupid and naive,” she shook her head.
“What happened?” Cole asked after a moment.
“We went downtown with his friends and their girlfriends. We went to the party, and Jeremy and his friends had a lot to drink. Soon I got tired and bored, and told Jeremy I wanted to go back to the hotel. So we left his friends, and he led me up to what I thought was my room. But once I walked in and saw both of our bags, I knew he’d never intended on getting me a room. This had been his plan all along.
“He tried to make a move, and I shut him down. I grabbed my bag and told him I was leaving. Then he got angry.
“He told me what a worthless, waste of time I’d been, how I’d never thought or cared about his needs. He told me he couldn’t believe he’d wasted three months on me, and for nothing. And he said that he’d waited long enough and if I didn’t give him what he wanted, we were through. Of course, he used some much more, um, colorful language.
“So, what did you do?”
Bri scoffed. “I did what any self-respecting girl would do. I told him to F-off and I left.”
Cole smiled his approval. “Good for you.”
“Yeah, well, walking out was the easy part. The aftermath was a little harder. Finding out the guy you thought you thought you were in love with couldn’t care less about you and only wanted to get in your pants, was kind of an ego killer,” she smiled humorlessly. “After that, I swore off dating football players. Well, I guess I swore off dating, period. Not that I had much opportunity. Jeremy spread enough rumors about me that no one would come near me. I guess he decided that if he wasn’t getting any from me, no one else would, either. Did I mention he was a bit territorial?”
“Ambria, I’m so sorry,” Cole said sadly. “That guy is a complete and total dickhead. He didn’t deserve you.”
“Thanks,” Bri shrugged. “What about you? Did your ex break your heart?” Cole shook his head. “Oh, no, you’re not getting out of this! I spilled my guts, and now it’s your turn. That’s how this works.” She eyed him challengingly. “Come on. Or I won’t tell you anything else.”
“Alright, fine,” he sighed. “To answer your question, no, she didn’t break my heart. But I think I broke hers.” He looked down.
“What happened?”
“I told you I don’t have many close friends, right?” Bri nodded. “Well, the girls I dated were just that, dates. I didn’t get attached. We’d go out, have a good time, things would run their course and I’d move on. Nothing serious. That was how I wanted it. But, I was lonely, though I hated admitting it to myself. I was dating this girl at the time, and I liked her. She was pushing for more commitment, so I thought what the hell. I’d give it a try.
“So, we got serious. I stopped dating other girls and she became my girlfriend. After a couple of months, though, things began to change, and I think she fell in love with me. At least as much as she was capable of. When I realized this, I looked at my own feelings for her, and I found that I didn’t really have any. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely attracted to her. And I enjoyed all the benefits of being a couple.”
He grinned brazenly at her, and Bri rolled her eyes at his innuendo.
“But there wasn’t anything more than that. Nothing deeper. I kept going, hoping that I would eventually develop some sort of feelings for her, but I didn’t. Then one day, she told me she loved me. I knew I’d never be able to reciprocate her feelings, or give her what she needed emotionally. So I did the only thing I could. I broke up with her.” Col
e hung his head in shame. “I know this sounds awful, and I sound like a total ass. But I had to be fair to her. I couldn’t keep stringing her along in the hope that one day something would change. I did what I thought was right.”
Bri nodded. “And how did she take it?”
“Not well,” he smirked. “She had a few choice expletives for me. But eventually she realized it was for the best, and stopped loathing me with a vengeance. Now we’re kind of friends again.”
“Really?” Bri was skeptical. “Can you do that? Just go back to being friends after all that? I didn’t think that worked out very well.”
Cole shrugged. “Maybe not for most people. But I’m still friends with some of the girls I’ve dated.”
That sounded odd to Bri, but she didn’t want to push it.
“And you haven’t had any other girlfriends?”
“Nope. I kind of swore off relationships.”
“Oh.” Bri found she was disappointed to hear that.
“At least, until I met you,” Cole grabbed her hand, and she looked up at him. “You give me hope.”
She smiled. “You give me hope, too,” she said truthfully. “Cole, when school starts a lot of things are going to change.” Bri gave voice to the nagging worries she’d had all week. Change was coming, she could feel it. It scared her to think that things between her and Cole might not be the same in a few days.
“Why would you think that?” he asked warily.
“Come on, you have a life and friends outside of me. We’ll have practices, and homework, and other commitments. Our little bubble we’ve been living in is about to pop. I’m just a little sad, is all.” She stopped walking and turned to face him. “If I ask you, will you promise me something?”
Cole lifted her hand, still entwined in his, and kissed her knuckles. “If I can.”
“Will you promise me that no matter what happens next week, or in the coming weeks, this, you and me,” she motioned between them, “won’t change?”
He suddenly looked heartbroken. Bri didn’t understand what she’d said that would make him so sad. She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Please?”
“Yes,” he replied softly. “I promise you that I will always care about you, no matter what happens. Will you promise me you’ll believe that? Please?”
“I promise,” she whispered.
“Good,” he replied with a sad smile.
Nothing would come between them. They were friends, on their way to becoming much more. They had a connection that would not be easily broken. Bri reassured herself, over and over, that she had nothing to worry about as they continued walking, hand in hand, down the beach, neither one willing to let go just yet.
As Bri lay in her bed that night, she was finally able to admit to herself that she had fallen for Cole. Hard. And even though she was nervous, and a little scared, about what that meant, for the first time in a long time, it didn’t seem like such a bad thing.
Chapter 7
Monday morning dawned bright and early. Bri knew this for a fact because she was up well before dawn, and she wasn’t thrilled about it. She walked through the dark, cool summer morning into the school gym. This six a.m. thing was going to get old, fast. As she entered, she was immediately accosted by Belinda, the team advisor.
“Bri! So good to see you this morning!” The woman was way too chipper for how early it was. “I have been thinking. After seeing the routine you performed at your tryout, I was wondering if you’d be willing to teach it to the team for our competition dance routine?”
It took Bri a moment to wrap her still half asleep brain around what Belinda was saying.
“Um, yeah, I guess, but isn’t that like dance plagiarism or something? I’m not sure how my old team would feel about that.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Belinda waved it off. “We only compete against in-state teams. There’s no way your team could possibly know. So, will you do it? Please? I think with your routine we have a great shot at State!”
Bri sighed. “Sure, why not.”
“Wonderful!,” Belinda beamed. “Let’s introduce you to the team, and tell them the great news!” Belinda pulled her in front of the now assembled team. Getting the girls attention, she began. “Ladies, this is Ambria Donnelly, the newest member of our team. You all remember how impressed we were with her at her audition.”
Judging from the glares she received from at least half the team, Bri doubted they had been impressed.
“Bri, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?” Belinda motioned for her to continue.
“Okay, I’m Bri, and I just moved here this summer from Dallas. I was a junior captain on my team last year, and a head captain before I had to move. I’ve been dancing since I was three, and taught at my studio for the past few years.” Bri noticed her speech wasn’t helping to eliminate the glares she was still receiving. Deciding a little brown nosing never hurt, she changed tactics.
“Look, I know I wasn’t here to practice with you all summer. And I missed the chance you all had to get to know each other and bond as a team. But I promise you that I will work my butt off to catch up on everything I missed. I am fully committed to this team, and I will do whatever you need me to, to help make us successful,” she smiled at them all, hoping she’d earned herself a reprieve from the hate.
“Thanks, Bri, we’re all glad you’re here. Now, I have asked Bri to teach us the routine she performed at her audition, and we are going to use it as our dance routine this year. We’ll start learning next Monday. Now, since Bri wasn’t here to learn the military routine we worked on this summer, I need one or two of you to volunteer to teach it to her and get her caught up. Anyone?” Belinda eyed the team.
For a moment, nobody moved. But then, a hand went up in the back, from one of the few girls who hadn’t been glaring at Bri.
“Layla, thank you! We’ll be starting our evening practices this Wednesday, from six to nine. You two can stay after and work until ten. It shouldn’t take you long. Okay, everybody finish stretching. We have our first halftime performance in two weeks, and we need to get to work.”
Belinda walked over to the stereo system to get the music ready. As Bri began to stretch, the girl who’d volunteered to help her walked up.
“Hi,” the tall brunette said, smiling sincerely. “I’m Layla Monroe. And before you ask, yes, that is my real name and not some stripper name I adopted!”
Bri laughed. “I’m Bri. Layla... that’s really pretty. Like the song.” Bri hoped she didn’t come off as too eager, but she could really use a friend on the team. Someone who didn’t automatically loath her.
“Yep, my parents are huge Eric Clapton fans. In fact, it’s quite possible I was conceived at an Eric Clapton concert,” Layla smiled. “So, how are you liking California?”
“It’s nice,” Bri paused as she was hit by the shoulder of one of the girls walking by. The fake blond turned and smirked at Bri over her shoulder.
“Real nice, Natalie,” Layla yelled at the girl. “Don’t worry about these guys, they’ll get over themselves eventually,” she smiled at Bri sympathetically. “Just show them you really meant what you just said, and they’ll come around.”
“Thanks,” Bri smiled, gratefully.
Belinda announced it was time to start, and practice got underway. The two hours flew by, and before she knew it, Bri found herself walking out of the gym and into the school. Ready or not, it was time to face her first day at Santa Monica High.
She didn’t have time to stop at her locker, as her first, technically second, class of the day was on the other side of the school. She took a deep breath and started down the hall. She kept scanning the throng of students, looking for a particular face, but she didn’t see him. She knew she and Cole had fifth period History together, and also seventh period Ceramics. She was unsure if she’d be able to find him before that.
Sliding into a seat in her AP Calculus class, Bri pulled out her schedule. She groaned as she looked over
it again. Dance, AP Calc, French, AP English, History, AP Biology, and Ceramics. What had she been thinking? She must’ve had a death wish when she’d signed up for classes. She was going to be drowning in homework, and then had night practices on top of it. She’d be lucky if she survived until graduation. But, it would be worth it. It was all about getting into Stanford.
Her French class was back on the other side of the school, the scheduling gods having a hay day with her, so it wasn’t until after third period that she was finally able to stop at her locker and unload her backpack. She had just opened her locker door when she heard something that made her pause.
“Coleston, my man!” a voice shouted. It came from the bank of lockers around the corner from Bri’s. “How’s it hangin’, dude? I didn’t see you all summer.”
“That’s because I was working. You know, making money? Something I don’t expect a rich boy like you to understand!” That was definitely Cole’s voice laughing. Bri quickly began putting her things away, wanting to pop around the corner and say hi to him.
“Well, at least tell me you found time for a little action, since you refused to come have fun with us all summer,” the other voice said.
“Maybe a little,” Cole replied smugly.
That comment stopped Bri cold.
“Dude, I knew it! So...? I’m gonna need the details.”
“Well, I met these cousins...” Cole began.
“Cousins, huh? Were they hot?”
“What do you think?” Cole asked. “One was tall, blond, and leggy. The other was shorter, auburn hair, and a body to keep you up at night!”
Bri’s heart stopped. Cole was talking about her and Carly. But it was the way he was talking that shocked her. The smugness in his voice, the way he was openly bragging about his supposed conquests, it didn’t sound like Cole at all.
“A redhead, huh? I hear they are, um, feisty!”
“In the best way!”
“So, which one did you choose?” The eagerness in the other guys voice was unmistakable.
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